


The Pizza Incident

by violetvaria



Series: Stable AU [9]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Anxiety, Fluff and Humor, Gen, No Plot/Plotless, Pizza, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Stable AU, dad!Jack, mild Jack/Diane, silliness, teen!Bozer, teen!Mac, teen!Riley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-06-29 22:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19840225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetvaria/pseuds/violetvaria
Summary: “Jack,” Mac said slowly, “what kind of pizza is this?”“Oh! I forgot to tell you! I got us a new kind. I think it’s called calamity pizza.”“Calamity? That might be exaggerating a little, but it’s pretty appropriate.”Or: the one in which Jack Gets Pizza WrongTM.Chapter 2 added: Mac's pizza prank~~~set in dickgrysvn's Stablehands + Stable Homes AUan insert to slightly_ajar's Fire + Ice + Truth





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Stablehands + Stable Homes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17294171) by [dickgrysvn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dickgrysvn/pseuds/dickgrysvn). 
  * Inspired by [Fire + Ice + Truth](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19804858) by [slightly_ajar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightly_ajar/pseuds/slightly_ajar). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, as always, to the gracious and talented dickgrysvn for creating and sharing this AU! It is essential to read her amazing story [**Stablehands + Stable Homes**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17294171) immediately and repeatedly.
> 
> Thanks also to slightly_ajar for allowing this insert inspired by her phenomenal and highly recommended [**Fire + Ice + Truth**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19804858). Credit to slightly_ajar for "Jack Gets Pizza Wrong."

“Mac?” Jack fumbled with the door as he entered, juggling the mail, his keys, and a piping-hot pizza box. “Hey, Mac! Wanna help your old man before he drops dinner all over the floor?”

Since the adoption had been made official a month ago, Jack never missed an opportunity to refer to himself as Mac’s dad or to the teen as his son.

Mac hurried toward the front door, looking worried, as though he really believed Jack would lose his grip on the pizza he’d promised to bring home. “I got it,” he said a bit breathlessly, yanking the box from Jack’s hand and incidentally scattering the mail, envelopes fluttering across the hall. “Oops.”

Jack pretended to scowl. “Excuse me, all you can say is _oops_?”

“Sorry?” Mac looked unrepentant, and Jack inwardly rejoiced that Mac could tell his dad wasn’t actually upset.

“Yeah, whatever, kid. Go take that to the kitchen before you drop it too, you walking disaster. I’ll clean this up.”

“You sure you can bend down that far, old man? Gotta watch your knees.”

Jack covered his laugh with a cough and arranged his face in his most insulted expression. “Who you calling _old man_ , little boy?” Mac was in a playful mood tonight, and Jack was thrilled to see it.

Mac’s nose wrinkled, but he was hungry enough that he chose not to pursue their mock argument, settling for sticking out his tongue and darting off to the kitchen to collect plates and napkins.

“Don’t think I didn’t see that!” Jack called after him, rejoicing in the giggle he heard from the other room.

After Jack had sorted the mail—mostly junk, with a bill thrown in for variety—and hung up his keys, he washed his hands and joined his son in the kitchen.

Mac was standing by the table, pizza box open, frowning intently.

“What’s up, kid?”

“Jack,” Mac said slowly, “what kind of pizza is this?”

“Oh! I forgot to tell you! I got us a new kind. I think it’s called calamity pizza.”

“Calamity? That might be exaggerating a little, but it’s pretty appropriate.”

Jack cocked his head. “Problem?”

Mac poked at the crispy mystery curls on top of the pizza. “Any chance you mean _calamari_ pizza?”

“Isn’t that what I said?”

Mac just shook his head. “Why did you order calamari pizza?”

There was silence for a moment, and Mac looked up to see Jack shuffling awkwardly. “Well, see…”

“Someone talked you into it.” Mac spoke flatly, a statement rather than a question.

Jack threw up his hands. “Hey, she said it was brand new and made it sound really great! Like we’d regret _not_ trying it.”

“She?” Mac managed not to laugh. “Let me guess. She was cute.”

Jack scratched the back of his neck. “Well, I never got to see her, to be honest.” At Mac’s look, he defended himself. “But she was real friendly on the phone! Sounded like a redhead.”

Mac tried not to gag, both as the smell hit his nose and at the thought of his dad attempting to flirt.

“And what’s the big deal, anyway? So they deep-fried the onions before puttin’ ‘em on. Not gonna make that much difference, right?”

Mac’s eyes widened. “Um, Jack, you know that calamari is squid, right?”

“Squid?”

“Squid.”

“As in octopus?”

“Well, they’re both cephalopods, but squids have two extra tentacles and—”

“So a _giant_ octopus?”

“No.” Mac rubbed his eyes with one hand, determinedly wrenching the conversation away from the anatomical differences between marine creatures. “Anyway, why are you calling for pizza and getting talked into something nobody wants?”

“How else am I supposed to order pizza?”

Mac groaned. “Give me your phone.”

Jack clutched his phone to his chest. “Why?” he asked suspiciously. “You gonna take it apart to power your gyro-doohickey?”

“Gyroscope. That was _one time_ , Jack. It was due that day, and I needed—never mind. I put it back together, didn’t I?”

“Sort of. Why can’t you use your own phone for whatever project you’re doin’ for school this time?”

“It’s not for school. You can order pizza with just a couple taps if I download this app.”

“Say who?” Jack was enjoying the frustration creeping up on his son’s face.

“ _Jack_. You know what an app is.”

“Sure. Some mozzarella sticks, maybe some fried pickles, some chicken wings—”

Mac narrowed his eyes, holding Jack’s phone aloft. “Maybe I need to build another gyroscope after all.”

“No! Nope, I’m done.” Jack pulled his fingers across his lips in a zipping motion. “If anyone can teach an old dog new tricks, it’s my genius son.”

The blush gracing Mac’s cheeks as he returned the phone pleased Jack enormously.

“I can show you how to use it later. It’s really easy and will save our—save your favorites so you can just always order something we—something good.”

Jack tilted his head to study his son fondly. “All right. I’m ready for a lesson any time.”

“We should eat first. Pizza’s going to get cold.”

“You wanna eat it?” Jack lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t have to, bud. I’ll get you something else if you want.”

“No, no,” Mac protested hurriedly. “Maybe it’s not too bad. Besides, we should try something new, right?”

Jack didn’t call the teen on his horror of wasting food or his extreme avoidance of asking his dad for anything that wasn’t an absolute necessity. “Yeah, sounds like a good plan, son.”

The calamari pizza wasn’t horrible, but for the first time in ages, Jack couldn’t finish more than two slices. Mac methodically plowed through most of the rest of the pie, shrugging when questioned.

“It’s pizza,” was his explanation.

The kid was probably hungry since he always waited for Jack before eating dinner. Jack felt guilty for not bringing something his son would enjoy more.

When they had eaten as much as they could, Jack offered, “Want to go somewhere for ice cream?”

Mac’s head shot up. “On a school night?”

Jack’s lips curled affectionately. His kid was so incredibly _dutiful_. “What? You haven’t finished your homework yet?”

Mac fidgeted. “Well, mostly…”

Jack waited.

“I guess…I mean, I still have some reading to do.” Mac was staring at the table now as though afraid of disappointing his dad.

“All right.” Jack waved a hand. “How ‘bout you go on and do that, and I’ll go get us something for dessert?”

Mac peeked up.

“Got any requests?” Jack winked. “Or shall I just ask a pretty gal what she recommends?”

“ _No_.” Mac glared at his dad. “Maybe you can’t go out by yourself. Not sure you can be trusted.”

“Well, good thing I’ve got a sidekick then, isn’t it?”

“I’m not your sidekick,” Mac grumbled, but he was smiling faintly.

“Fine, you’re not my sidekick. You’re my son.” Jack had to pause to savor those words and then rushed forward to cover his emotional lapse. “And I think I can manage to get my son’s favorite malt from Larry’s. Okay?”

Mac smiled. “Yeah. That sounds good, Jack.”

“Good. I’ll be back in a bit.” Jack hid a grin as he headed toward the front hall. “Your favorite is tofu and lemongrass, right? I’ll get you an extra-large.”

“ _Jack!_ ” Mac sputtered, but his dad just saluted and disappeared through the door.

Mac eyed the closed door sourly for a moment before his frown dissolved into a mischievous smirk. Jack thought he was _so_ funny. Well, the kid he’d adopted had a sense of humor too.

Homework could wait. Mac had a revenge prank to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies to anyone who loves calamari pizza. When I thought of Jack calling it "calamity" instead, it made me laugh so hard I couldn't bring myself to use any other topping.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to GeekyNightOwl1997 for sparking this idea!
> 
> Tremendous appreciation to everyone who wanted to see Mac's prank. As tends to happen with me, this veered away from light and fun and into more emotional angst with a mostly happy ending (but still compliant with slightly_ajar's wonderful [**Fire + Ice + Truth**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19804858)). Sorry for the change in tone between chapters!
> 
> WARNING: extremely mild hints of the possibility of consenting adults engaging in adult activities (and their teenagers being grossed out by the idea)

“I don’t get it,” Bozer said for about the sixth time. “I thought you guys _wanted_ your folks to get together.”

“We do, Boze,” Mac mumbled, not looking up from his phone.

“But, y’know, love flourishes under hardship and all that,” Riley said flippantly, leaning over Mac’s arm to peer at the screen. “Like Romeo and Juliet.”

Bozer’s eyebrows lifted. “Have either of you actually read that all the way to the end?”

His two friends ignored him.

“Okay, I think that’s all of them.” Mac’s shoulders rolled back into a more casual stance, and Bozer shrugged. He’d gone along with this ridiculous plot mostly because of Riley’s disarming smile when she and Mac told him their idea, but he was also glad to see Mac relaxed enough to play a practical joke on his dad. And Jack probably wouldn’t really mind. Almost certainly.

“All right, then, what’s the next step?” Bozer asked, rubbing his hands together.

“We wait,” Mac responded laconically, settling easily against the trunk of a tree. Riley, too keyed up to imitate his veneer of calm, practically vibrated beside him.

“Uh…so help me out here, bro. Your big plan is to just hang around half a block from your own house while your parents are inside?”

Riley rolled her eyes. “Of _course_ that’s not the whole plan. We’re just waiting for the deliveries.”

Bozer waited, but apparently they were going to make him ask. “Fine. I’ll bite. What deliveries?”

“Pizza,” Mac said nonchalantly.

“Pizza?”

“Lots of pizza,” Riley confirmed.

Bozer looked from one friend to the other. “I thought this was a prank. It kind of sounds like you basically just ordered them dinner.”

“No, Boze, it’s—”

“Fourteen pizzas!” Riley interrupted.

“Fourteen?” Bozer sounded impressed. “Okay, so what happens—oh, I get it. They all show up at the same time, like a pizza flash mob, right?”

Mac scrunched his eyebrows as though puzzled. “No, we made sure to stagger the delivery times.”

“So…”

“So for the next hour, the doorbell’s going to ring about every four minutes, and Jack or Mom will have to answer it—” Riley dissolved into laughter.

“And it will always be pizza!” Mac finished, a full-fledged grin blossoming.

Bozer privately thought Mac and Riley could have come up with a better prank, but he’d heard about the calamari pizza incident and figured Mac was returning the favor in kind. And his friends’ mirth was contagious.

“All right, I’m in,” he agreed, as if he weren’t already their accomplice for driving them there. “Do we need to do anything?”

Mac sobered immediately. “We need to flag down the delivery cars before they get to the house.”

“What? Why?”

“So they’re in on the prank, _obviously_.”

Mac glanced at Riley and answered more patiently. “If Jack says he didn’t order pizza, they’ll call the contact number, which is me.”

Bozer opened his mouth, thought for a minute, and shut it again. He understood. His genius friend could have figured a way around it, but he didn’t want to cheat any of the pizzerias they had chosen, so he had used his real contact information and paid for the pizzas online. Nor did he want to cause trouble for the delivery drivers. This way, the drivers would know the pizzas would be accepted by someone even if Jack refused the unasked-for food.

Bozer considered further. He doubted Mac had let Riley chip in on the cost. Still too young for part-time work, she received a modest allowance from Diane, most of which went toward new tech. Mac, on the other hand, earned a salary at the stable. He didn’t work as many days per week as he had pre-adoption, back when he’d been eager for an excuse not to go home, but he also wasn’t required to pay for his own clothes or school supplies anymore. Jack had even added his son’s phone to his plan, so Mac didn’t have a phone bill to worry about.

Old habits die hard, and Bozer knew Mac continued to save most of his wages. This was sort of an odd way to spend his money, but Mac was laughing and at ease, so Bozer would support him.

“Here’s the first one!” Riley squealed, taking off before either of the boys could react.

Bozer hesitated. “Should we go after her?”

Mac looked doubtful, but as he watched the girl chattering animatedly to the driver, he said, “I think she’s got this. We’ll take turns. Uh, I mean, Riley and I will. You can if you want.”

Before Bozer could answer, Riley was bounding back toward them. “He’s in!”

With sweating palms and nervous grins, the three teens tracked the driver as he pulled up to the house and got out with the pizza box. He rang the doorbell.

There was a long pause.

The driver rang again.

After an agonizingly long minute, the door opened.

“Here’s your pizza, sir.”

Bozer wondered if the driver was a wannabe actor. He was projecting his voice so the teens would be sure to hear him.

Jack’s voice was softer, but Mac could make out the confusion in his tone.

“This is the address, sir,” the driver said, having clearly thrown himself into the role Riley had outlined.

Riley had a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles, but when Jack accepted the pizza and tipped the driver, all three teens nearly collapsed to the ground, laughing. The driver gave them a thumbs-up and a wave as he drove off.

Mac’s phone pinged. Jack.

_Kid, you sent your pizza here by mistake. You all getting something to eat?_

Mac didn’t dare respond, afraid of accidentally giving away too much, even in a text. Hopefully Jack would be preoccupied and wouldn’t follow up.

Jack accepted the next pizza also, sending Mac another message.

_Mac. Do you not know where you are? Your pizza keeps coming here._

After the third delivery, Jack’s frustration was clearly rising.

_MAC. Stop ordering pizza. It’s not getting to you._

Bozer was surprised Jack was still accepting the pizzas, and Mac was starting to worry that he was pushing his dad too far. Only Riley was blissfully calm, at least until she got a text from Diane asking if she and Bozer and Mac had eaten.

“What do I say?” she asked, panicked.

“Don’t answer!”

“Oh, _great_ advice, Boze. Perfect. Like I want my phone taken away for not responding.”

Mac bit his lip. He hadn’t anticipated getting Riley in trouble. Just then, the next delivery car drove past, and Mac thought about calling the whole thing off.

Before he could, Riley darted past him and recited the spiel they had perfected.

This time, Jack sent the driver away. Even from a distance, Mac could see him scowling. He swallowed hard.

The driver came back, and Mac mechanically accepted the pizza and tipped her.

“Great! I’m starving!” Bozer eagerly reached for the box, Riley right behind him.

She stuffed a slice in her mouth and spoke around the food, “Mow uh c’n t’ h’ w’ ‘t.”

Mac and Bozer stared at her, uncomprehending.

She chewed and swallowed. “I said, ‘Now I can tell her we ate.’” She jotted off a text in seconds and reached for another piece of pizza.

Mac was nibbling anxiously at his first slice, but Bozer nodded in satisfaction and finished the piece in his hand. Just as he was reaching for another, Mac’s phone rang, and all three teens froze.

“Don’t answer!” Bozer hissed.

“That’s your solution for everything, huh, Boze?” Riley sniped.

“It’s Jack,” Mac announced unnecessarily, eyes wide. “Uhh…”

Riley snatched the phone from his open palm. “Hi, Jack!” she chirped. “Sorry, he’s in the bathroom. I—what?” She decided to go on the offensive. “Hey, what’s with you and Mom and food all of a sudden? I _told_ her we ate something. I don’t have an eating disorder, okay? Is that really what you think? Like all teenage girls must have something wrong with them? Like, do I look unhealthy to you, Jack?” There was squawking at the other end of the line, and Riley pressed her advantage. “Seriously, don’t be creepy. Why would you even say that? I’m hanging up now.” She suited action to word, grinning triumphantly.

Bozer gazed at her with open admiration. “That was…awesome.”

“Not bad, right?” Riley looked pleased with herself until she glanced over at Mac. “Mac? You okay?”

“I—”

Another pizza delivery drove past. Riley and Bozer shared a look, and Bozer trotted after it.

“Hey, you okay?” Riley repeated more gently. “Do you wanna call off the rest of it?”

Mac was fidgeting with the crust of the slice he’d mostly finished. “I didn’t think you’d get in trouble.”

Riley waved a hand. “We’re all good. Jack will tiptoe around me for days, and Mom can’t complain that I didn’t answer her.” She narrowed her eyes. “You know Jack won’t be mad either, right?”

Mac didn’t reply. He _had_ believed that, but now, faced with unmistakable evidence that Jack was becoming annoyed, he wasn’t so sure.

Jack sent away this driver as well, and Mac mechanically accepted the food. Bozer and Riley abandoned the slightly cooler pizza to get their third slices from the new one.

The sixth delivery was also denied, and Mac’s phone rang again. In a fit of inspiration, Bozer grabbed his friend’s phone while blasting music from his own, holding the speaker close so it would sound louder to Jack than it really was.

“Hey, Jack!” he shouted. “Sorry, can’t hear you!”

Riley raced off to catch the next delivery, and Mac’s head swiveled between his friends, unsure whether to be horrified or amused when Bozer promptly hung up.

Riley jogged back to them. “Did he sound mad?” She wasn’t afraid to ask what Mac didn’t dare, figuring it would put Mac’s mind at ease.

Bozer shrugged. “I wasn’t lying. I really couldn’t hear.”

“Well, _that_ was helpful, then.”

“Hey, I got him off the phone, didn’t I?”

While his friends bickered amicably, Mac saw the driver ringing the doorbell. And ringing again. And again. After the fourth ring, the driver gave up and returned to her vehicle. Mac added the pizza to their stack.

“Ignoring the door, huh?” Riley sounded thoughtful. “I guess that’s a strategy. Not sure how long they’ll hold out, though.”

The eighth delivery also went unanswered, and then the teens saw the living-room lights wink out.

“Are they pretending they’re not home?” Riley’s nose wrinkled.

“Oh.” Bozer’s eyes widened. “Maybe they went, uh, to the bedroom. You know.”

“Bozer!” Riley shrieked, smacking him. “That’s my mom!”

Bozer rubbed his arm. “Right, right, sorry.”

“And this is only like their fifth date, anyway.”

Bozer nodded furiously, unwilling to argue with her.

Mac, meanwhile, felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach. Riley was right. The relationship between Jack and Diane was still relatively new and delicate. Fragile. What if he were destroying it? What if he had totally ruined Jack’s chances with a woman he clearly adored? What if Diane decided Jack had too much baggage in the form of a troublesome teenager? Or what if Jack interpreted this as some sort of passive-aggressive way for Mac to express his displeasure that Jack and Diane were together? Or—

“Hey.” Riley was poking him. “Earth to Mac.”

“You okay, dude?”

Mac didn’t have time to answer as he spotted a new wrinkle.

“There’s two at once!” he hissed. Now that he thought about it, he should have realized this would happen sooner or later. Delivery times were not exact.

“Do we hold one back?” Riley suggested.

“I think it’d be funny if two showed up at once,” Bozer chimed in.

Mac figured two at the same time wasn’t any worse than one, since they’d probably be ignored anyway. He was starting to wonder why he’d thought this was such a great idea. He trudged to the first car while Riley skipped over to the second.

To their surprise, the door opened to the two delivery drivers standing together. Jack said something they couldn’t make out, but he accepted both pizzas, handing them backwards, presumably to Diane, as he tipped the two drivers.

One of the drivers paused on the way down the street.

“He laughed when he took the pizza. You kids sure this was a prank?”

Bozer shrugged and waved, and the driver left.

Riley put her hands on her hips, head cocked to one side. “Well…I guess that’s good,” she said reluctantly, mostly for Mac’s sake. She was a little disappointed that Jack seemed to be taking it with a sense of humor, but she could tell Mac had been getting worried.

“Sure it is,” Bozer agreed, gently punching Mac’s shoulder. “Right, man?”

Mac was frowning. “What do you think it means?”

“What it means?” Bozer repeated blankly.

Riley shook her head and sighed, heading off down the street to catch the next driver.

“What’s going on in your head, bro?” Bozer prodded.

Mac twitched one shoulder, still pensive.

This pizza, too, was accepted, and the driver left without looking back at the three teens. The front door remained open for several seconds, Jack just standing, peering into the dark. Finally, he shrugged and went back inside.

After the twelfth pizza had been handed to Jack, both adults emerged from the house, moving in the direction of the three teens.

“They’re coming!” Riley yelped.

Bozer froze, eyes wide. “What do we do?”

Mac’s decision was instinctive, not logical. “Run!” he commanded. They had the presence of mind to grab the five pizza boxes, three of which were still completely full, and they took off down the street.

They slowed after rounding the corner, hiding behind some shrubbery.

“Dude, what if they notice your car?” Riley hissed to Bozer.

“Well, what do you want me to do about it?” Bozer fired back.

“Shhh!” Mac hushed them, as though his dad weren’t well out of earshot.

The three friends watched in tense silence as Jack and Diane walked to the tree that had been the teens’ perch for the past forty-five minutes. They paused and appeared to confer briefly, Jack gesturing widely in the way Mac recognized as his instructive mode, combined with a hint of eagerness to impress.

“Wait! Look!” Bozer snatched at both his friends’ sleeves, and they turned.

Another pizza delivery car was cruising slowly down the street.

This time, they heard Jack’s chuckle gust into the night air, accompanied by Diane’s lighter laugh. Jack waved like he was flagging a taxi, chatted briefly with the driver, and took the pizza box, shaking his head.

Jack and Diane headed back to the house, and Mac, Bozer, and Riley slumped as though released from a chokehold.

“What do you think that was about?”

Mac and Riley exchanged a glance and simultaneously shrugged noncommittally.

As the final delivery pulled up, Bozer and Riley felt a faint pang of sorrow that it was over, but all Mac felt was relief. Jack seemed to be taking it in stride, but he was glad it was finished.

To their surprise, the driver returned to them, waving a paper.

“What’s that?” Bozer asked, taking it from the young driver.

He shrugged. “Got me. Dude gave me extra if I’d give it to you.” He scratched his head, opened his mouth as if about to ask follow-up questions, and then just drove off instead.

Mac, Bozer, and Riley shuffled by mutual agreement until they were standing beneath a streetlight, where Bozer handed the folded slip of paper to Mac. He noticed the outside bore the words “Teenage Idiots” in Jack’s spiky handwriting, but the inside had clearly been written by Diane.

_Very funny, kids. Are we done yet?_

Mac figured it was time to return Jack’s texts.

_Sorry I missed you. What’s up?_

Mac stared at the draft for a while, wondering if it were worth feigning innocence. He was still debating when his fidgeting thumb tapped the send button. “Oops.”

_That’s how we’re going to play it, huh? Have it your way. I’ll see you later tonight._

Mac cautiously responded, _You said I could stay at Bozer’s tonight, remember?_ He bit his lip and added, _Is that okay?_

_Yeah, sure, kid. See you tomorrow. Make sure Riley gets home._

Mac managed to roll his eyes at his dad’s overprotectiveness of a girl that wasn’t even his own—yet.

He looked up to see Riley scowling at her phone, apparently having received a similar message from Diane.

“Guess the fun’s over, boys,” she said lightly, masking her dissatisfaction.

The three hung out at Riley’s place for a while, but Mac didn’t want to be there when Diane got back—and he and Riley refused to consider the possibility that she wouldn’t be home tonight—so he and Bozer left after a couple hours.

Mac didn’t sleep much that night. He couldn’t figure out why he was so nervous, and he hated the feeling. Jack had seemed to find the whole thing funny, after some initial annoyance perhaps, and he had in no way indicated that Mac was in any trouble.

Plus, they’d polished off the rest of the two jumbo pizzas they’d started, leaving one unopened box with Riley and taking the remaining two to Bozer’s. That could account for some of the roiling in Mac’s stomach.

He bid his friend goodbye late Sunday morning, feeling absurdly guilty that he’d slept in when Jack would have been up at dawn to go to the stable. This was ridiculous since Mac had the day off and had worked all day yesterday, helping Jack close up early enough for him to get ready for his date with Diane.

A date Mac had hijacked with his dumb practical joke that, now that he thought about it, wasn’t even that funny.

He slunk into the house, unpleasant half-memories teasing at the back of his mind of other times he’d tried to be unseen and unheard. He paused in front of the refrigerator, taking in the flurry of papers and photos stuck to the door.

He’d been puzzled the first time Jack had asked about a test Mac had taken at school. He’d already seen the grade on the school’s online portal, so the only reason Mac could come up with for his dad asking for the paper copy was that he didn’t believe the posted grade.

_“There were two bonus questions,” he’d explained hastily, digging the test out of his backpack. “That’s how I got a hundred-and-two percent.” He thrust the paper toward his dad, eager to prove he wasn’t lying, although it wasn’t as if he were the one entering the grades online._

_“Man, kid, I didn’t even know it was possible to score this high! I knew you were studyin’ hard, and look how it paid off!” Jack sounded delighted, with no hint of stress whatsoever. He happily took the proffered test and proceeded to the kitchen. “This is goin’ up on the fridge!”_

_Mac stood rooted in place for a moment. What did that even mean?_

_“What?” he finally managed, scurrying after Jack._

_Jack had already found a magnet and affixed the paper on the door at eye level. “There.” He stepped back and eyed it proudly, as if he’d just painted a masterpiece. “Looks good, don’t it?”_

Mac had since learned that Jack celebrated even minor milestones by putting things on the fridge. Looking at this abundant evidence that Jack loved him and was proud of him always calmed Mac. He took some time to study the refrigerator door, feeling his heartrate return to normal.

It spiked immediately when he heard Jack pull in.

“Kid, you home?”

Mac dragged himself to face his father.

“Hey, bud.” Jack glanced up briefly and then looked back down at the work boots he was removing. “You have fun with Bozer?”

Hesitantly, Mac nodded, which did no good because Jack was still concentrating on his feet.

“Mac?” Jack kicked off the last boot and looked up.

“Yeah.” Mac cleared his throat. “Um—”

Jack interrupted him. “Well, c’mere! I ain’t seen you in almost a whole day!”

It had been less than eighteen hours, but Mac didn’t protest the tight embrace. Jack seized every opportunity to hug his kid, and Mac was grateful in a way he couldn’t articulate. It was…nice, this receiving of affection. Not that he would ever ask for it.

“Good to see you, kiddo,” Jack mumbled into his son’s hair, finally releasing him after one last squeeze.

Mac took a deep breath. “Jack, I’m sor—”

Jack held up a hand, and Mac hated the way he automatically flinched, a slight enough movement that he didn’t think Jack had caught it.

“Gonna stop you right there, son. It was a decent prank, I’ll give you that. Gettin’ me back for the other night, huh?”

Mac stared at the floor and didn’t answer.

Jack sighed. “Yeah, it was a little annoying at first. But it kinda worked out…”

At his dad’s suggestive tone, Mac lifted his head.

Jack was grinning broadly now. “Diane thought it was hilarious. Kept talking about you and Riley gettin’ along and something about ‘harmless fun.’” Jack frowned briefly. “Think she was just glad Ri hadn’t hacked the pizza delivery system or somethin’.”

Mac opened his mouth to defend his friend but couldn’t think of what to say.

“’Sides, I got to impress her.” Jack wore a cocky grin. “Figured out where y’all would be hidin’ for the best vantage point and showed her the angles and stuff.” His face darkened slightly, but his tone was still determinedly light as he added, “Sniper training had to be good for somethin’, right?” With an obvious effort, he wrenched his mind back to the present. “Pretty sure she was impressed.”

Mac found his voice. “I’m sure she was, Jack,” he agreed dryly.

Jack pretended to scowl. “Hey, mister, the scent of pizza was kinda a dead giveaway on your little hidey-hole anyway. How many did you end up with?”

Blushing, Mac admitted quietly, “Five.”

Jack whistled. “Damn. You went all out, didn’t you?” He draped an arm over Mac’s shoulders and headed for the kitchen. “Come look at this.”

The refrigerator was bursting with pizza boxes.

“We ate most of one—thanks for that, by the way—and Diane agreed to take two, so we’ve still got six. Do you know how hard it is to fit six jumbo pizzas inside the fridge?”

Mac hesitated, but Jack’s arm was warm and solid and relaxed around him, so he took a risk. “Hard?”

Jack burst out laughing. “You got it, kid. Gotta say, me and Diane were in stitches for almost an hour, movin’ stuff around like a game of Tetris or somethin’.”

Mac wasn’t sure he’d understood that correctly. “You…were laughing?”

“It was funny, man! By the way, if you want butter, you’ll have to dig it out of the crisper. I think it’s buried under the tomatoes.”

In spite of himself, Mac smiled.

“We’ll…be eating pizza for a long time,” he ventured.

“Yeah? What’s the downside?” Jack fondly clapped his son’s shoulder.

Mac’s smile grew a bit more confident. “At least I ordered good kinds.”

“Yeah, yeah. Not gonna let me forget that one, are ya? Are we even now, kid? Or do I have to be watchin’ for snakes in my bath or somethin’?”

Ignoring the tempting diversion, Mac promised quickly, “No more pranks.”

“All right then.”

“It wasn’t that funny anyway.”

Jack’s expression gentled. “Mac, I think you might’ve hit on the best prank ever. Nobody got hurt, we all had fun, and yeah, it _was_ pretty funny. I laughed. Didn’t you?”

Mac didn’t want to admit that he’d started worrying pretty early on, so he just nodded. It wasn’t a lie. He had laughed after the first delivery. No need to dwell on any of those ridiculous anxieties that he could now see hadn’t even been reasonable. Jack enjoyed his son’s sense of humor, had even before the adoption. He felt a swell of affection for the man who had taken him in, given him a home, shown him what it was to be loved and appreciated.

“Okay.” Jack ruffled the kid’s hair, his hand lingering just a moment longer than normal. “So I think it’s time to eat. You know what we’re having?”

Mac matched Jack’s grin with one of his own as father and son chorused together, “Pizza!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of Jack putting Mac's work on the refrigerator door is from impossiblepluto in a comment conversation on her must-read [**Recrudescence**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18439946).


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